Memorial Marks 1 Year Since Disappearance Of Avonte Oquendo

A memorial was held on Oct. 4, 2014 to mark the one year anniversary of Avonte Oquendo's disappearance (Credit: Monica Miller/WCBS 880)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A memorial was held Saturday to remember an autistic teenager who disappeared from his school one year ago today and was later found dead.

Saturday’s memorial was held at Hunter Point South Park in Queens.

As WCBS 880’s Monica Miller reported, Avonte’s mother, Vanessa Fontaine, tried to hold back tears as she talked about her son.

“And I just want everybody to know that you know, he may be a special needs kid, but he is my baby,” she said.

Memorial Marks 1 Year Since Disappearance Of Avonte Oquendo

On Oct. 4, 2013, Avonte Oquendo ran out of Center Boulevard School in Long Island City, setting off a massive search that included subway tunnels and regular announcements over the public-address system at subway stations.

His remains were found in the East River in January, several miles from where he vanished.

Fontaine said she gets angry when she thinks of life one year ago when Avonte ran from his school. She and her lawyer said no one at the school has been fired or reprimanded.

“They need their license revoked. They don’t need to be teachers. They don’t need to be security. They didn’t do their job,” she said.

Since Avonte’s death, the City Council passed “Avonte’s Law,” which requires the Department of Education to evaluate the need for alarms to be installed on outside doors at all schools and install them where it has deemed them necessary.

City Councilman Robert Cornegy said the city needs to move faster on implementing Avonte’s Law.